Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson has been in the spotlight more than once this year for daring to support initiatives like charter schools, the suspension of teacher pay and class-size initiatives, and the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) graduation requirement. (Click here for more.) Such good deeds never go unpunished, and the relentless state teachers' union is attempting to give Bergeson her comeuppance in the form of a stiff re-election challenge from Washington Education Association-sanctioned candidate (and former state superintendent) Judy Billings. The challenger is running on a promise to "de-emphasize the WASL" - in other words, to make sure it is not used as a high-stakes graduation test for the state's students. In last week's primary, which determined which two candidates would duke it out in November, the retro Billings led the (moderately) forward-looking Bergeson by nearly 2,000 votes.
"WASL a factor in race to head schools," by Linda Shaw, Seattle Times, September 10, 2004
"WASL at core of contest," by Heather Woodward, Olympian, September 16, 2004